Who is your Dark Horse of 1986?

[Edgy MD]

Even if you plan better than anybody, a lot of things still have to go right to win a championship, and a lot of things did. Not only did Darryl Strawberry not tear his thumb on a dive and Mookie Wilson not shatter glasses into his eyeball, but more than a few unexpected players stepped up their game and became key contributors.



A reminder of Centerfield's criteria:

Here are the rules. 1. It must be someone who is not on anyone's reasonable radar for this year. So "I think this is the year Michael Conforto puts it all together" is not an acceptable answer. Neither are top prospects on the doorstep that we expect/hope will contribute. So Peter Alonso, get the fuck outta here. The more obscure the better. 2. Contributions must be made at the Major League level. It's fine if you think Simeon Woods-Richardson will catapult to the top of Keith Law's list, but unless he makes contributions in 2019 as a Met, it doesn't count. Feel free to start your own "Dark Horse Prospect" thread. 3. I'm ok with former top prospects who have fallen from grace. So, if a few years ago, you said Dominic Smith, you would have been disqualified. But with all the 1B options now, and Dom basically an afterthought, he's an ok pick. So is former to prospect Bill Pulsipher, if you're inclined to go that route.

So who is your 1986 Dark Horse?



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[Benjamin Grimm]

Does Ray Knight qualify?



(oops... I didn't notice that this is a poll... I guess he does qualify!)

[HahnSolo]

Knight for me. Primarily because I thought he was done after 1985, and his major contributions were totally unexpected to me. I thought HoJo would have displaced him at the hot corner by May

[G-Fafif]

Shoutout as well to Ed Hearn, who was not in evidence early and proved a solid backup to a Kid who (k)needed his share of time off.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I went with Mitch. Total surprise, great versatility, and a very big single in a crucial spot. Knight definitely looked done in 85 but it wasn't inconceivable he would bounce back.

[G-Fafif]

Normally I wouldn't contextualize a two-time All-Star in the dark horse stable, because once a player has been an All-Star, I'm inherently convinced he's going to be golden forever (all right, we got Jerry Moses!), but Ray Knight was so at the bottom of the barrel -- Cashen couldn't give him away -- that his resurrection to not only everyday player but the guy who kept making a difference from April through October was most stunning.



Ojeda I'd categorize more as a very pleasant surprise in terms of revealing his ceiling. Mitchell did indeed bust out from the fog of Tides, but most of his wow factor ("wow, he can play short!") played out in the first month and after a while he settled into his semi-regular left fielder role, not quite the revelation in the second half he was in the first. Knight kept bringing it until he brought home the go-ahead run in Game Seven.



Also, Ray Knight was pretty much the only player whose presence in the Met lineup I ever booed as a matter of course. Not Knight, but Knight's presence. Drove me crazy Davey played him at all instead of Hojo as 1985 unfolded. What fun to be turned around in a year's time.

[smg58]

I'm with G-Fafif. Knight was genuinely terrible in 84 and 85, and there was no good reason to think 86 would be different.

[Edgy MD]

Mitch went to bed with a 4-2 lead, but woke up in a 5-4 deficit.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Everything I advocate for in CPF polls gets defeated, I should just shut up. I'm very Schleprocky